About the Book

What do James Frey’s A Million Little Pieces, Margaret B. Jones’ Love and Consequence and Wanda Koolmatrie’s My Own Sweet Time have in common? None of these popular books are what they appear to be. Frey’s fraudulent drug addiction “memoir” was really a semi-fictional novel, Jones’ chronicle of her life in a street gang was a complete fabrication, and Koolmatrie was not an Aboriginal woman removed from her family as a child, as in her seemingly autobiographical account, but rather a white taxi driver named Leon Carmen.
Deceptive literary works mislead readers and present librarians with a dilemma. Whether making recommendations to patrons or creating catalog records, objectivity and accuracy are crucial—and can be difficult when a book’s authorship or veracity is in doubt.
This informative (and entertaining!) study addresses ethical considerations for deceptive works and proposes cataloging solutions that are provocative and designed to spark debate. An extensive annotated bibliography describes books that are not what they seem.

About the Author(s)

With over 25 years of cataloging experience, Jana Brubaker is the acting associate dean for collections, technical services, and digital scholarship at Northern Illinois University Libraries in DeKalb.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vi
Preface 1
Introduction 3
A Few Words about Cataloging Terms 6
Deceptive Works 9
Barriers to Accurate Cataloging 11
Codes and Standards 13
Memoirs and Autobiographies 17
Col. Crockett’s Exploits and Adventures in Texas 20
Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk 21
The Life of John William Walshe, F. S. A. 23
Long Lance 24
The Cradle of the Deep 27
Pilgrims of the Wild 28
The Diary of a Surgeon in the Year 1751–1752; Surgeon’s Mate; Man Midwife 29
My Sister and I 31
The Long Walk 33
Travels with Charley 34
Go Ask Alice 36
I Married Wyatt Earp; Illustrated Life of Doc Holliday 38
The Education of Little Tree 40
Michelle Remembers 42
Satan’s Underground 43
Mutant Message Downunder 45
A Rock and a Hard Place 47
Sleepers 50
Stoker 52
Fragments 54
Misha 55
The Autobiography of Howard Hughes 57
Jihad! 60
The Blood Runs Like a River; The Boy and the Dog; Geronimo’s Bones 62
The Cage 64
A Million Little Pieces; My Friend Leonard 65
Kathy’s Story 67
Three Cups of Tea; Stones into Schools 70
Child P.O.W. 72
The Road of Lost Innocence 73
Angel at the Fence 76
Love and Consequences 77
The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven 79
The Man Who Broke into Auschwitz 80
Other Nonfiction 83
Never Cry Wolf 85
In Cold Blood 87
Roots 90
In His Image 92
Arming America 93
Honor Lost 95
Ananios of Kleitor 97
The Last Train from Hiroshima 98
Imagine 100
The Embassy House 102
Fiction 105
Wild Cat Falling 108
Jack Rivers and Me 109
Famous All Over Town 110
The Hand That Signed the Paper 112
My Own Sweet Time 114
Sarah; The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things; Harold’s End 115
The Honored Society 117
Poetry 119
The Darkening Ecliptic 119
The Love Poems of Marichiko 121
Doubled Flowering 122
Saracen Island 124
Conclusion 126
Notes 131
Bibliography for Case Studies 151
Selected Bibliography for Secondary Resources 153
Index 155

Book Reviews & Awards

“In this era of fake news and alternative facts, catalogers have an added burden when it comes to identifying deceptive books…Brubaker explores the cataloger’s responsibility in describing these titles and provides useful guidelines on how to catalog them…. a timely and thought-provoking work”—Library Journal; “an informative and occasionally downright entertaining study…recommended”—Midwest Book Review.